Fender scuff plate



vMaly 25, 1943. G. A. LYON FENDER SCUFF PLATE Filed Aug. 8, 1941 Patented May 25, 1943 FENDER SCUFF PLATE George Albert Lyon, Allenhurst, N. J., assignor to Lyon Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation o! Delaware Application August 8, 1941, Serial No. 405,929

7 Claims.

This invention relates to fender sc uff plates, and more particularly to a scuif plate or protective shield for the leading face of a fender, and to a novel means for securing the same on the fender.

Vehicles employing fenders, and particularly automotive vehicles of the present day, commonly employ a fender of the so-called high crowned type. These fenders have a deep rolling crown portion and an extensive depending side wall portion in which a relatively large opening is provided for removal and replacement of the vehicle wheel. Fenders of this type, as is readily understood by those skilled in the art, are subjected to flying particles, stones and other foreign material when the'vehicle is in motion, the majority of which strike the fender in the region of the lower front wall portion or the lower side wall portion forward of the wheel opening. It has been found desirable in practice to provide some sort of a shield in this region to prevent indentation and marring of the fender.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fender scui plate, or Aprotective shield, for a vehicle fender and to a novel method and means for securing the same thereon.

Another object ofthe present invention is to provide a novel sheet metal fender seuil plate.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fender sc uif plate having novel means thereon including hook means at; one end and resilient ngers at the other end for securing the same to a vehicle fender.

Another and further object of the present invention is to provide a fender scuff plate, or protective shield, which is arranged'. to be snugly wrapped around the lower front portion of a vehicle fender and which may also be provided with one or more :fingers thereon which make a sliding engagement with the .vehicle fender thereby to permanently hold the scuff plate thereon.

.'I'he novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, both as to its organization and manner of construction and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: u

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a vehicle fender having a fender scu plate thereon;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the fender scuff plate and the forward portion of the vehicle fender as taken along the line II--II of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a rear view of a fragmentary portion of the rear end of the scuff plate showing the manner in which the teeth thereon make a biting engagement with the rolled edge of the fender; and,

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the scul plate showing the hooks along one edge thereof and a plurality of fingers along another edge thereof.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing which illustrate one embodiment of the present invention, there is illustrated therein a vehicle fender I0 mounted on a vehicle II. The fender Ill has a relatively large opening I2 therein which affords access to the vehicle wheel, the opening I2 being located in the downwardly depending side wall portion I3 of the fender I0. The lower or base edges of the fender I0, as well as the edge portions around the opening I2, are rolled or curved inwardly as at I4. This rolled or curved edge I4 stiffens the fender in a manner well known to those skilled in` the art. The fender I0 may be secured to thevehicle Il in any suitable manner, such as by bolts I5 (Figure 2).

The fender scuif plate, or protective shield, I6 is provided for the front end of the fender I0. This scuff plate, or protective shield, I6 is shaped to t snugly over the curved lower front portion of the fender I0 and is provided at its front end with a pair of vertically spaced L-shaped hooks or ngers Il and along its curved rear edge with a plurality of resilient fingers I8. The scuff plate I6 is preferably formed of steel or other metal which is slightly resilient and the fingers I8 are preferably formed integral thereon. The fingers I1 may be secured tothe scuff plate I6 in any convenient manner.

The fender I0 opposite the L-shaped fingers I'l is provided with apertures I9 through which the L-shaped ngers Il may be hooked. The

f lingers I8 are beni; at an acute angle with respect to the adjacent body portion of the scuff plate I6 and are so arranged and disposed that they may be sprung over the curved or rolled edge Il of the fender l0 around the forward portion of the opening I2. Because of the particular angle that the fingers I 8 make with respect to the adjacent body portion of the seuil plate I6 and because of their angular relationship with respect to the rolled' edge I4 of the fender I0, it will at once be observed from an inspection of Figure 2 that these fingers I8 after they have once been sprung over the rolled edge I4 will' make a biting engagement therewith. Any tendency of the rear edge of the seuil plate I6 to become dislodged from the fender will'only make the iingers Il bite deeper into the rolled edge i4.

To mount the s'cu plate I6 on the fender I0, the L-shaped hooks are hooked through the openings I9 in the fender Ill with the scuiI plate held approximately in the position as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2, The seuil plate I6 is thereafter rocked about the fingers I1 which provide/a substantially vertical axis of rotation until the fingers engage the rolled edge I4 in the manner shown in Figure 2. The scuff plate I6 is now substantially permanently secured to the Ii'ender I0. Y

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will, of course. be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since many4 modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a wheel fender having an outer side wall and a curved forward wall which gradually merges into said side wail; said side wall having a wheel opening lt.hereinoi` a scui plate of slightly 'resilient sheet'r'netal ma terial arranged to extendvover a portion Vof the forward wall and around over anadiacent portion of thel side wall, said scuiil plate being formed k to snap into engagement with said fender, ,and having supporting and securing means including `concealed resilientl iingers'for yieldably retaining it in engagement with said fender and which ngers are rendered eiective by the act of shoving said plate into position on said fender so that said plate is resiliently retained in place by' said ngers.

2. The combination with awheel fender hav. ing a. wheel opening, of a scuif plate of relatively -stiif sheet material lformed to be snapped into engagement over a. portion of said fender adjacent and extending awayfrom the wheel opening a rounded forward wall, 0i a scufl plate of sheet metal material for extending over a. portion of said sid'e wall adjacent the Wheel opening and extending around over the forward wall, thereby providing a protective plate for said fender against flying stones and other foreign objects, hook means adjacent one end of said scuft' plate arranged to be hooked onto said fender, and spaced fingers at the other end bent back behind said scuil plate and disposed at an angle to project toward said seuil plate, said iingers being positioned to make a biting engagement with said fender when said plate is shoved into position thereon.

4. In a crowned `fender construction including f a curved front and an apertured side wall, a

y a curved front and an apertured side wall, a

fender scui plate for disposition over the curved front and aroundV to the aperture in the side wall, said plate having hook means for cooperation with the fender front and means for making abiting engagement with the fender adjacent the aperture.

5. In a crowned fender construction including a curved front and an apertured side wall, a fender scui plate for disposition over the curved front and around the side wall to the aperture therein, said plate having hook means for cooperation with the fender front and being held 0n the fender side wall as well as over the front solely by a snap-on connection.

6.' In a crowned fender construction including a curved front and an apertured side wall, a fender scui plate for disposition over the curved front and around the apertured side wall, means at one end of said plate for pivotally mounting said plate on said fender for movement about substantially a-vertical axis, and means spaced from said iirst means including a plurality of resilient fingers for making a snap-on biting engagement with the fender.

'1. In a crowned fender construction including fender scut plate for disposition over the curved front and around the side wall to the aperture therein, means in proximity to the front edge of said scuff plate for pivotally supporting said plate on said fender for movement toward and away from said fender, and a plurality of obliquely forwardly and outwardly extending iingers along the rear edge of said scui plate for making a biting snap-on engagement with the aperture defining edge of said fender.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON. 

